Will Chargers staff fit Rivers with no-huddle?

With Norv Turner gone, is now the time for the Chargers to see if Philip Rivers fits the no-huddle offense?

Turner, the team's coach from 2007-12, clung to huddling unless the Chargers had no choice but to speed up.

The new Chargers coaching staff, in contrast, is rich in no-huddle know-how, so head man Mike McCoy was asked if the offense suits Rivers.

“I think you can do that with anybody, really,” he said. “It’s a matter of what your players do best. Does your quarterback like that? Do you have the right players to do it? There’s a place for it, without a doubt.”

The no-huddle is like a favorite sports car to Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, who went 2-0 against the Chargers last year and led Denver to the AFC West title.

As it happens, Manning's no-huddle secrets may be known to two new Chargers coaches: McCoy, who was Denver's offensive coordinator last year, and Frank Reich, who was Manning’s quarterbacks coach with the Colts for two years.

In addition, Reich piloted the no-huddle as an NFL quarterback and the backup to Jim Kelly. It was Kelly who directed the “K Gun” attack that took the Bills to Super Bowls from 1991-94.

Another no-huddle coach is Ken Whisenhunt. Lo and behold, he joined McCoy's staff as the offensive coordinator and playcaller, coming off six seasons head-coaching the Cardinals.

Whisenhunt said his Cardinals teams had “really good success” with the no-huddle.

“A lot of it’s dependent on the QB,” he added. Asked if the scheme suits Rivers, he said, “I think there’s a lot of things that he can do and does well, and it’s going to be our job to try to emphasize those things.”

Turner treated the no-huddle like an encased fire extinguisher, breaking the glass only in emergencies. In the 2011 season, as the Super Bowl-bound Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady prospered with the no-huddle, Turner said the scheme would’ve ill-served the Chargers.

“A team like New England played almost the entire game in one offensive personnel package,” he said. “That’s what you prefer to do in the no-huddle. We prefer to use personnel groupings and a number of different guys. When a game’s over, we’ve played 18 to 20 guys on offense. If you’re subbing in the no-huddle, you don’t get the same benefit as if you’re playing with the same people every time.”

For what it’s worth, when the Cowboys won two Super Bowls with Turner as their playcaller, their opponent each time was the no-huddle Bills.

As the no-huddle has evolved, allowing teams to reel off more plays and formations than when Reich played, more NFL teams either have embraced or dabbled in it. Up to 20 NFL clubs used it in 2012, estimated a Sports Illustrated writer. The AFC champion Ravens were among those who used it this past season, as did at least one of the participants in the previous six Super Bowls.

A bigger test for the no-huddle will come in the next NFL season. The football world will be watching the Eagles to see if Chip Kelly’s offense resembles Oregon’s no-huddle blur that, under Kelly, propelled a variety of Ducks teams and quarterbacks to BCS bowls.

The no huddle’s advantages are obvious. Defenders have less time to disguise their looks. Absent stops, the defense will wear down faster. Offenses can create or preserve mismatches by moving too fast for defenses to substitute.

Then again, trying to coordinate without huddling can make for fuzzy offense. The menu of plays is reduced, and the team’s own defense can wear out fast if the attack flames out.

Because the huddle is eliminated or reduced, a quarterback’s ability to read defenses and communicate grows in importance.

“I really believe you have to have a veteran, composed quarterback to live in it,” said Ted Tollner, a former assistant to the Bills’ no-huddle pioneers, Ted Marchibroda and Marv Levy.

“With that said,” Tollner added, “you have some rookie quarterbacks that look like they’re veteran, composed quarterbacks. We’re seeing some young guys that are running that stuff like they’re veterans.”

Tollner said the attack isn’t suitable for sluggish offensive linemen. Although not all no-huddle attacks move fast, the blockers need to line up promptly, or else the defense won’t have to worry about the ball being snapped.

“It’s them learning that tempo but also being conditioned mentally and physically for it,” he said.

The Chargers coaching staff, which recently gained a new strength and conditioning coach, has been scouting draft-eligible players in recent days. Before crafting an offensive strategy, the coaches will help the front office to assemble a player roster.

“It’s premature to talk about a lot of those things until you see what type of personnel that you have and what you feel good about going on – and what types of changes will be happening,” Whisenhunt said. “There’s going to be free agency and drafts, and additions and subtractions.”